Cell-cell interactions are of wide fundamental importance to a myriad of processes that occur during development, wound healing, and metastasis. In addition to generating biochemical signals that trigger intracellular cascades, it is becoming increasingly clear that cell-cell interactions generate and sense mechanical forces and that these processes are equally important for controlling the behavior of cells and the surrounding tissue (1). This field of mechanotransduction is examining the effects of various mechanical forces including adhesive forces (e.g., cadherins) and tensile forces, (e.g., myosin contraction) as well as the effects of the stiffness of cell types and their surrounding extracellular matrix (ECM). Mechanical forces may not only mediate cell signaling, but also direct morphogenesis, cell migration and may be altered in certain disease states, such as metastasis and fibrosis (2-8).
An assay to quantify the collective forces that drive cell aggregation and the self-assembly of 3D microtissues can be employed (9). This assay measure the self-assembly of a multi-cellular toroid on a cone and it quantifies cell power, the work performed by a toroid as it moves up the nonadhesive cone against the force of gravity. This complex process may be driven by numerous factors including the number of surface adhesion proteins, cytoskeletal motors, and metabolic rate. Conversely, it is possible that self-assembly is opposed by other factors, such as cell stiffness, intransient receptor binding and other sources of friction.
Therefore, a need exists for a method and system that overcomes or minimizes the complexities and other problems of the above-referenced techniques.